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Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 29th. The Sun will rise at 7:01. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 23 minutes, setting at 8:24. The Moon, 3 days past full, will rise at 10:13 this evening.

It’s our Wednesday look at the bright planets. Four of them are visible in the evening sky. The brilliant Venus will be visible in the western twilight from about 8:40 p.m. until it sets at 9:44 p.m. Jupiter will be in the southwest as it gets dark. It is only outshone by Venus, the Moon, and currently Mars. Jupiter will set at 11:05 p.m. Saturn will start the evening low in the southern sky and will stay relatively low, above the Teapot of Sagittarius. It will be due south at 9:21 p.m. and will set at 1:47 a.m.. Mars will be low in the southeast as the skies darken tonight. and is now 41.3 million miles (66.6 million km) away. It will set at 3:25 a.m. Mercury will rise in the east-northeast at 5:29 a.m. and be visible until about 6:40 tomorrow morning.

The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

The evening planets visible at 9 p.m., almost an hour after sunset. August 29th, 2018. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars with the same magnification at 9 p.m. August 29, 2018. Mars is also shown enlarged. The global dust storm is abating, so the albedo features are beginning to be seen. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Mercury seen at 6:15 a.m. August 30, 2018, about 45 minutes before sunrise. Bonus Orion appears without the possibility of frostbite. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

The gibbous Moon as it should appear tomorrow morning. Created using Stellarium.

Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on August 29, 2018. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 30th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.

Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 22nd. The Sun rises at 6:53. It’ll be up for 13 hours and 43 minutes, setting at 8:37. The Moon, half way from first quarter to full, will set at 4:00 tomorrow morning.

It’s Wednesday and time to look for and at the bright planets. Four of them are visible in the evening sky. The brilliant Venus will be visible in the western twilight from about 9 p.m. until it sets at 10:02 p.m. Jupiter will be in the southwest as it gets dark. It is only outshone by Venus, the Moon, and currently Mars. Jupiter will set at 11:30 p.m. Saturn will start the evening low in the southern sky and will stay relatively low, above the Teapot of Sagittarius. It will be due south at 9:49 p.m. and will set at 2:15 a.m.. Mars will be low in the southeast as the skies darken tonight. and is now 38.9 million miles (62.7 million km) away. It will set at 3:51 a.m. The fifth planet Mercury will rise at 5:27 a.m. tomorrow morning.

The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

The evening planets visible at 9:30 p.m., almost an hour after sunset. August 22nd, 2018. Also shown is the Moon. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars with the same magnification at 9:30 p.m. August 22, 2018. Mars is also shown enlarged. The global dust storm is abating, so the albedo features are beginning to be seen. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

The gibbous Moon as it should appear tonight. Created using Stellarium. Stellarium.

Demonstration of the Moon’s gibbous phase with the Styrofoam moon ball we use for Project Astro held up to a light off frame to the right. The night side of the ball is illuminated a bit by the translucency of the ball, and the reflection off my hand. Note the roughness of the ball is visible only at the terminator.

My program about the Moon’s crescent phase aired last Thursday and a demonstration of it using a moonball is here.

Mercury seen at 6 a.m., about an hour before sunrise. A bonus, the constellation Orion appears without the possibility of frostbite. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on August 22, 2018. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 23rd. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.

Ephemeris for Wednesday, July 25th. The Sun rises at 6:21. It’ll be up for 14 hours and 55 minutes, setting at 9:16. The Moon, 2 days before full, will set at 5:13 tomorrow morning.

It’s Wednesday and time to look for and at the bright planets. Three of them are visible in the evening sky. The brilliant beacon of Venus will be visible in the western twilight from about 9:40 p.m. until it sets at 11:07 p.m. Mercury, is now too close to the Sun be seen. Jupiter will be in the south-southwest as it gets dark. It is only outshone by Venus, the Moon, and for a few weeks by Mars at its closest. Jupiter will set at 1:15 a.m. Saturn will start the evening low in the southeast and will stay relatively low, above the Teapot of Sagittarius. It will be due south at 11:45 p.m. and will set at 4:10 a.m.. Mars will rise at 9:49 p.m. and is now only 36.0 million miles (57.9 million km) away. It will reach opposition early Friday morning.

The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Evening planets from Venus to Saturn plus Moon and the officially morning planet (for two more days) Mars at 10:30 p.m., July 25, 2018. Click on image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

The Moon as it might be seen in binoculars this evening. Created using Stellarium.

Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars with the same magnification at 10:30 p.m. July 25, 2018.Mars is also shown enlarged. It seems that the global dust storm may be abating according to one report I saw on Twitter. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on July 25, 2018. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 26th. Mars, being close to opposition and very much south of the ecliptic is not in the sky at either sunrise or sunset, I showed a patch of sky with Mars in it in the morning that was below the horizon. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.

Ephemeris for Wednesday, July 18th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 8 minutes, setting at 9:23, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:15. The Moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 1:01 tomorrow morning.

It’s Wednesday and time to look for and at the bright planets. Four of them are in the evening sky. The brilliant beacon of Venus will be visible in the western twilight from about 9:40 p.m. until it sets at 11:21 p.m. Mercury, is fading and is far below and right of Venus, setting at 10:18 p.m. Jupiter will be in the south as it gets dark. It is only outshone by Venus, the Moon, and for a few weeks by Mars at its closest. Jupiter will set at 1:42 a.m. Saturn will start the evening low in the southeast and will stay relatively low, above the Teapot of Sagittarius. It will be due south at 12:14 a.m. and will set at 4:40 a.m.. Mars will rise at 10:20 p.m. and is now only 36.8 million miles (59.2 million km) away, in telescopes it appear to be 23.7″ (seconds of arc) in diameter. It will be due south and at its highest in the sky at 2:35 a.m. at 21 degrees altitude.

The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Evening planets from Mercury to Saturn and Moon at 9:50 p.m., July 18, 2018. Click on image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

Mars at its highest in the south with Saturn at 2:35 a.m. Click on image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

The moon as it might be seen in binoculars this evening. Created using Stellarium.

Telescopic view of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars at 11 p.m. on July 18. All at the same magnification. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on July 18, 2018. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 19th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.

Ephemeris for Wednesday, July 11th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 20 minutes, setting at 9:28, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:08. The Moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 5:36 tomorrow morning.

It’s Wednesday and time to look for and at the bright planets. Four of them are in the evening sky. The brilliant beacon of Venus will be visible in the western twilight from about 9:50 p.m. until it sets at 11:33 p.m. Mercury, reaching its greatest separation from the Sun just after midnight, is far below and right of it, setting at 10:44 p.m. Jupiter will be in the south as it gets dark. Jupiter is only outshone by Venus and the Moon, though Mars will outshine it later this month at its closest. Jupiter will set at 2:09 a.m. Saturn will start the evening low in the southeast will stay relatively low, above the Teapot of Sagittarius and will set at 5:10 a.m.. Mars will rise at 10:46 p.m. and is now outshining Saturn.

The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Venus and Mercury at 10 p.m. July 11, 2018. Created using Stellarium.

The evening planets except Mercury at 10:30 p.m. July 11, 2018. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

Mars and Saturn in the morning at 4:30 a.m. July 12, 2018. Created using Stellarium.

Telescopic views of Venus, Jupiter and Saturn at 10:30 p.m. on July 11, and Mars at 4:30 a.m. on July 12. All images are at the same magnification. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts)

Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on July 11, 2018. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 12th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.

Ephemeris for Independence Day, Wednesday, July 4th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 28 minutes, setting at 9:31, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:03. The Moon, 2 days before last quarter, will rise at 1:13 tomorrow morning.

It’s Wednesday again and time to look for and at the bright planets. Four of them are in the evening sky. The brilliant beacon of Venus will be visible in the western twilight from about 9:50 p.m. until it sets at 11:42 p.m. Mercury is far below and right of it, setting at 10:57 p.m. Jupiter will be in the south as it gets dark. Jupiter is only outshone by Venus and the Moon, though Mars will outshine it next month at its closest. Jupiter will set at 2:37 a.m. Binoculars will show it to be bigger than star-like in size. Saturn will start the evening low in the southeast will stay relatively low, above the Teapot of Sagittarius and will set at 5:39 a.m.. Mars will rise at 11:17 p.m. and is now outshining Saturn.

The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

All the evening planets for July 4, 2018 at 10:30 p.m. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

Telescopic appearance of Venus on July, 4, 2018. A moon filter helps cut down the glare to be able to more easily see the phase. Created using Stellarium.

Telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at 10:30 p.m. on July 4, and Mars at 12 midnight on July 5, 2018 at the same magnification. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Europa’s transit of the face of Jupiter starts at 1:55 a.m. July 5th. The Great Red Spot will cross the central meridian of Jupiter at 11:19 p.m.

Mars Saturn and the Moon at 5 a.m. July 5, 2018. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on July 4, 2018. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 5th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.

Wednesday, June 27th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 33 minutes, setting at 9:32, and it will rise tomorrow at 5:59. The Moon, 1 day before full, will set at 6:27 tomorrow morning.

It’s Wednesday again and time to look for and at the bright planets. Three of them are in the evening sky. The brilliant beacon of Venus will be visible in the western twilight from about 9:50 p.m. until it sets at 11:53 p.m. Mercury is far below and right of it, setting at 10:59 p.m. Jupiter will be in the south as it gets dark. Jupiter is only outshone by Venus and the Moon, though Mars will outshine it next month at its closest. Jupiter will set at 3:05 a.m. Binoculars will show it to be bigger than star-like in size. Saturn which is opposite the Sun in the sky today will rise as the Sun sets. It’s right below the Moon tonight. Mars will rise at 11:39 p.m. and is now outshining Saturn.

The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Venus and Mercury low in the western sky ay 10 p.m. June 27, 2018. Click on image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

Telescopic appearance of Venus on June 27, 2018. A moon filter helps cut down the glare to be able to more easily see the phase. Created using Stellarium.

Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon tonight at 10:30 p.m. on June 27, 2018. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

The Moon and Saturn as they might appear in binoculars at 10:30 p.m. June 27, 2018. Created using Stellarium.

Jupiter and Saturn with the same magnification at 10:30 p.m. June 27, 2018. Information on Europa events and the Great Red Spot is below. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Mars, Saturn and the Moon at 5 a.m. June 28, 2018. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.

Greatly enlarged telescopic Mars at 5 a.m. June 28, 2018. Note that the dark albedo features may be covered by a global dust storm currently raging on the Red Planet. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).

Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on June 27, 2018. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 28th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.